Spurs reach NBA Finals, ending 12-year absence with Game 7 win

Spurs reach NBA Finals, ending 12-year absence with Game 7 win

San Antonio defeated Oklahoma City 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at Paycom Center, ending a 12-year absence from the NBA Finals and setting up a championship series against the New York Knicks. Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 22 points and seven rebounds, while two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a game-high 35 points in a losing effort for Oklahoma City.

The Knicks, who swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, are returning to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years. New York struggled early in the postseason, trailing Atlanta 2-1 in the first round after consecutive one-point defeats, before winning 11 straight playoff games to reach this point. The Finals pairing carries historical weight: San Antonio and New York last met for the championship in 1999, a series the Spurs won in five games.

The Game 7 was the 160th winner-take-all game in NBA history and the fifth of this postseason. Oklahoma City had entered as defending champions, having won the title in 2025, but no team has made consecutive trips to the NBA Finals since Golden State reached back-to-back championship series in 2018 and 2019. Regardless of which team lifts the Larry O’Brien Trophy this year, it will mark the eighth different franchise to win a title in eight consecutive seasons, the longest such stretch in NBA history. San Antonio’s last Finals appearance came in 2014, when the Spurs defeated Miami in five games.

Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals is scheduled for Wednesday in San Antonio.